May Named Big West Swimmer of the Week, UCSB Hosts Final Dual of the Season on Saturday

 Take Your Marks...
The UC Santa Barbara swim teams will compete in their final dual meet of the 2008-09 season this Saturday at Campus Pool. The Gauchos will play host to Big West Conference foe Pacific at 11 a.m. Prior to the day's first event, UCSB will pay tribute to their senior class. Admission, as always, is free.

 Backstroking
Last weekend, UCSB gambled and lost at UNLV, dropping a pair of nonconference duals to the Rebels. The women dropped their end of the meet by way of a 141-121 score and the men were defeated 169-94. With the losses, the Gaucho women are now 5-3 in dual meet action and the men are 4-2 overall.

 May Does It Again, Picks Up Conference Swimmer of the Week Honors
Despite the final outcome of last Saturday's meet, the Gauchos still had some highlights, most notably junior Anne Marie May's victories in the 50 and 100 freestyle. The sprinter posted her best dual meet time in the 100, touching the wall in 50.80. She finished the 50 free in 23.27. May also anchored the Gaucho "A" relays to first-place finishes in both the 200 medley and 200 free relays. For her standout performance, May was named the Big West Conference Female Swimmer of the Week, marking her third such honor this season.

 Dynamic Duo
May was not the only Gaucho woman to pick up a first-place individual finish at UNLV. Sophomore Sara Nicponski placed first in the 100 breast (1:02.75) and Katy Freeman won the 200 breast (2:16.70). In fact, the swimmers went one-two in both of those events, which has been a very common occurrence this season. With the exception of one meet this season, Freeman or Nicponski has taken first in the 100 and the 200 breast at every other dual they have swam in. Freeman has placed first in the 100 twice (UCLA and Cal Poly) and the 200 three times (UNLV, Cal Poly and UCLA). Nicponski has won the 100 three times (UNLV, UC Davis and UC San Diego) and the 200 once (UCSD). The one time neither won was against USC when they finished two-three to Olympian Rebecca Soni.

 Good? More Like Great!
Senior Chris Good was the lone double event winner at UNLV on the men's side. He captured first in the 200 backstroke (1:50.47) and the 200 individual medley (1:54.01). Good is undefeated in dual meets this season in the 200 back; he has won the event in the duals against UNLV, UCD, USC and Cal Poly.

 Rank And File
After ranking 24th in the CSCAA Division I Top-25 Poll, released on Oct. 31, the UCSB men's swim team is now listed as "others receiving votes" in the Jan. 30 poll. The women are also receiving votes - 10 to be exact. Georgia is currently ranked No. 1 on the women's side while Texas holds the top spot for the men.

 Best In The (Big) West
On the Big West Conference's list of top-20 times this season, the UCSB women hold the top spot in 14 of 19 events, including all five relays. The Gauchos are also the only swimmers in the Big West to already meet NCAA championship "B" qualifying standards. UCSB has turned in 11 "B" standards in nine events. On the men's side, the Gauchos currently own the top Big West times this season in six events, including both the 200 and 400 medley relays.

 Taming The Tigers
Pacific will visit Cal Poly on Friday before coming to UCSB for Saturday's meet. The Tiger men have posted a 1-5 dual meet record this season while the women are 4-4 overall. The last time the two teams met was on Feb. 2, 2008 when the Gaucho men won 164-95 and the women posted a 136.5-125.5 victory over the Tigers.

 Coming Soon
The Gauchos will be on the quest to defend their Big West titles when they head to the conference meet on Feb. 25-28. The event will be held at Long Beach's Belmont Plaza.